Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1887-03-24
Washington Letter

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Congress. few evenings ago, Senator
Edmunds said Regardless OF party,
one who has the welfare Of the country
at heart Must feel disappointed at the
condition in which public business has
been left. l do not intend to criticise
those who are responsible for the bust
ness nor to apply any eplthets. sup
pose they know the wisdom of their
own action"
"Under the Constitution" he con-
tinued, "the Senate has no right to
originate revenue legislation. The
power to collect revenues is expressly
with the House, and it is held, and
properly so, I think, that this includes
the power to reduce revenue as WE'LL
By design or otherwise the House fail
ed to send us any revenue measure, and
YOU can see that We are he pcss. !
shall not attempt to locate the blame.
I say merely that for the good of the
country the condition Of affairs is un-
Fortunate
1t is now the belief Of many leading
men of the Democratic party, some of
whom are occasionally called to the
! White House for counsel and advice,
that the President will ask the Filtieth
Congress to convene in extra session
early IN October. If he does, there are
several reasons that will prompt the
unpopular step.
1t is a well known fact that Congress
scarcely ever does any thing like real
work until after the holiday recess; it
goes without saying also that the two
great parties in Congress will be sur
charged with politics next year and
that their time will be largely devoted
to President making. SO, unless some
of the important Legislation to come
before it, can be maturel at an earlier
day than the course OF the regular ses-
sions would make possible, there would
be but little hope for,lts success.
Much time of the first, or the long
session as it is usually called, is devot :
ed to the formulation of business for
the second or short session, ard the
business thus deferred from one year
to another-in many cases business OF
the most urgent importance IS hnrl-
ed into the whirl Of the last ten. days
or two weeks of Congress, to be but
half done or badly done or not done at
all.
Some IDEA Of the manner IN which
the Forty Ninth Congress wound up
its work may be found in the declara-
of member of long experience that
the record revealed the fact, that one
quarter Of the legislation of the session
had been enacted in the last six !egisa.
tive days. An enrolling clerk Of twelve
years of service said that never in that
length of time. had he witnessed the
haste exhibited in the last twenty four
hours Of the Congress which has just
expired.
During the recess of the Upper
House, for the Senate, which onl y re-
news one-third Of itself biennially, is Il
perenniAlly organized body and goes
on forever, some of the Senators will
60 to Europe. Mr.. Ingalls,, Of Kansas,
the newly elected President of the Sen
ate, says he Is not one of those who can
indulge in such Il luxury, however, when
asked if he proposed to spend the sum
mer abroad he replied mot unless some
good fairy pityingly puts money in my
purse" He added that European pleas
ures called for more filthy lucre than he
could command.
When some establishment was ey-
pressed that the President of that great
mllionaires' club (the United States
Senate) could not afford a trip across
the Atlantic in these DAYS of low prices
and rapid transit, the Senator said it
was the plain, unvarnished truth, and
that there were quite number of mem
bers of the millionaires' club in that
predicament. He thinks great deal
of unnecessary nonsense is written and
talked about Senatorial wealth, and
asserts that in reality large majority
of his confreres have nothing but their
salaries to live on.
Senator spooner is not too poverty
stricken to plan a summer trip to
Europe, however. and Senator Palmer,
who Is one of the undisputed possessors
of millions, is going to bring his inva-
lid wife home. The latter has been
called the philosophical millionaire, and
is fond Of talking eplgramaticallv Of
life and The uselcssness of immense